The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in Canada. It’s name “pileated” means “capped”. It is nearly the size of a crow. This one is a female. The males look similar except that they have a red stripe on the cheek, that looks a bit like a moustache. We often see the results of a […]
At first, we thought that something was wrong with this bird. I believe it is a brown thrasher, and it was “anting”. The thrasher is lying on the ground, and letting ants climb on it. Apparently the ants crawl between its feathers and skin. It stretched out its wings, and acted like it was having […]
It’s a true sign of spring when the trilliums bloom, and the hummingbirds are back. My goal this summer is to get some more pictures of hummingbirds.
We have had quite a few dark-eyed juncos in our backyard lately. They will come to the bird feeder but usually they scratch with their feet on the ground to get their food. They are very busy little birds, living up to the Spanish word “juncus” meaning “rush”. A nickname for the junco is “snowbird”. […]
Yesterday, we had an eastern towhee in the backyard. This is the very first time I’ve ever seen one, so I needed to check to see what kind of bird it was. The eastern towhee is the size of an over-large sparrow. They have black, reddish brown and white feathers. They like to spend time […]
We have had some purple finches at our feeders lately. The males are brightly coloured, whereas the females do not have the bright colours. I thought maybe I had a picture of a female, but once I looked it up, I don’t believe it is a purple finch. I’ll have to keep looking.
It’s been interesting to see the Pine Siskins this winter as we have seen the most we have ever seen before. They usually come in a big flock of 20 or so. They remind us of chickens when they are crowded on to our window feeder. We aren’t seeing as many now, so we don’t […]
Brown Creepers are very difficult to spot. They blend in with the trees, and are hard to see. My husband spots them easier than I do. A brown creeper is about 5 inches in size, which is smaller than a nuthatch. They often look like a piece of bark from the difference. Brown creepers go […]
We’ve had a few goldfinches coming with the pine siskins. They are starting to get more colour. I enjoy their bright colours in the spring and summer, but they are beautiful at this time too. Their subtle colours at this time of year are beautiful too. We haven’t seen them very much, so it’s a […]